Paper feeding and handling device.



E. CHESHI'RE.

PAPER FEEDING AND HANDLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR` 6. |914.

1,145,405, Patented July 6, 1915.

l2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

f, MM l www E.v CHESHI'RE.V

PAPER FEEDING ANDVHANDLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MIIII 6. 1914.

1,145,405., f Patented July 6,1915.

, N L l2 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N il N LH m m @I III vE. CHESHIRE.

PAPER FEEDING AND HANDLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION HLVED MAR. 6. 1914.

l2 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

FIGA- MQW 03m E7 E? E5 E. CHESHIRE.

PAPER FEEDING AND HANDLING DEv|cE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6, |914.

LQ., A Patented July 6, 1915.

l2 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

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lv A Similia wl'rNEssEs INEN-ron E. CHESHIRE.

PAPER FEEDING AND HQAND-LING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6. 1914.

lgllAGI Patented` 6, 1915.

l2 SH SHEET 6.

" E. CHESIHRL PAPER FEEDING AND HANDLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6. 1914.

1,145,405. Patented July 6, 1915.

, 12 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

wlTNEssEs I u M vE ron E. CHI-:SHIREIV PAPER FEEDING AND HANDLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAILS, 1914.

llAO, Patented July 6, 1915.

12 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

wI'rNEssEs v M QINVIENTICSIRl E. CHESHIRE.

PAPER FEEDING AND HANDLING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED III/IR. 6. I`9I4.

LMAO, PaI-enIed'July 6,1915.

12 SHEETS-SHEET 9.

` FIGAB E. CHESHIRE.

PAPER FEEDING AND HANDLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MMI` 5. 1914.

Patented July 6, 1915.

I2 SHEETS-SHEET l0.

ADD,

MMM@

E. CHESHERE.

PAPER FEEDING AND HANDLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION {ILED MAR. s. 1914.

Lmf, Patented July 6, 1915.

E. CHESHIRE.

PAPER FEEDING AND HANDLING DEVICE.

APPLlcATloNVFlLFn MAR.6.1914.

1,145,45., A Patented July 6, 1915.

12 SHEETS-SHEET l2.

FIG.2 T

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WITNESSES y M pun earns .aan onirica.

EDWARD CHESHIRE, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO MILLER SAW- TRIMMER COMPANY OF MICHIGAN, OF ALMA, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION 0F MICHIGAN.

p `Patentned July 6, 19152.

Continuation of application Serial No. 508,896, filed July 2,2, 1909. This application led March 6, 1914.

Serial No. 823,024.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, EDWARD CHESHIRE, acitizen of the lUnited States, residingv at Pittsburgh, in the vcounty of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Paper Feeding and Handling Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification.

My invention pertains to paper feeding and handling devices, and particularly relates to paperfeeders for printing presses, more especially those of the Gordon and similar types.

It is an object of my invention to provide an eiiicient device for automatically feeding sheets to ajprinting press of the GrordonI type, which will be simple of construction vand not liable to get out of order during use, and which will require a minimum of be attached to a press without the necessity of radical changes being made in thevlatter'. It is a further object to produce a device which will be 'certain in itspperation, and which will position the sheets properly on the platen. And other and further objects of the invention will appear from the following description, taken in connection with the appendedclaims.

By way of example, a press feeding device constructed in laccordance with my invention is described in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, ythat the invention may be embodied in other forms, and that changes may be made in the form described' and shown, without exceeding the scope thereof as defined in the ap- `pended claims.` Y i In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation ofthe feeder as applied to a press of the Gordon type, part of the press being illustrated; Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the feeder; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3,-3 of Fig. 1;- Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 4-4 o f Fig. y2, showing the means for releasably locking the floating bottom of the feed box; Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line 5-5 of Figs. 2 and 4; Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2 and shows details of the actuating lever for the floating bottom of the feed box; Fig. 47 is an enlarged vertical section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 2, illustrating the driving gears for the feeder operating-cam shaft; Fig. 8 is a horizontal section taken on the line 8 8 of Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a detail view of the cam disk for effecting the movement of the frame which supports the feed grippers; Fig. 10 is a vertical section on the line 10-10 of Fig. 2 and shows the means for separating the sheets singly from the stock and `pushing them forward to be taken by the feed grippers; Fig. 11 is an enlarged partly sectional plan showing the same parts, the section being taken on the line 11h11 of Fig. 2; Fig. 12 is a detached view of the sheet-separatingv device showing the same in another position; Fig. 13 is a partly sectional detached view drawn to an enlarged scale, illustrating the sheetlifting shoe .and related parts in still another position; Figs. 14 and 15 are an inverted plan and a perspective view respectively, illustrating the form and operation of the sheetlifting shoe; Fig. 16 is afplan of gripper frame, the frame being showlr as detached from the remainder of the device; Fig. 17 is a detail side elevation of the gripper frame and the guide therefor, the guide being shown in section; Figs. 18 and 19 are a front view and a verticalsection respectively of one of the feed grippers; Fig. 2O shows two ofthe gripper members detached from the rest of the device; Fig. 21

is a fragmentary perspective view showing Y the gripper operating bar and the trip lever for actuating the same to remove the spring pressure from theV gripper members; Fig. 22

is a fragmental view illustrating the operakof the coupling lever of the throwing out mechanism; Fig. 26 is a detached view showing the throwing out lever in a position different from that shown in Fig. 23; Fig.

bearings in which is supported a driving 'shaft A1 carrying upon one end a crank disk, which actuates, by means of a connecting rod A2,- aform-receiving bed A3 which is pivoted to the frame A in such avmanner that the reciprocating movements of the connecting rod A2 will cause a forward and backward movement of the bed. Such a press also comprises a platen' B pivotallyv supported upon trunnions B1 carried in suitable bearings on the frame B is intermittently moved into and out of parallelism with the bed A3 by the agency of a cam groove B3 formed in a gear wheel A carried bythe end of the driving shaft A1 opposite to that which carries the crank disk, the form of thev cam groove B3 being such that the platen is allowed to remain stationarybetween each of its intermittent movementsfor a sucient time to enable the paper printed to be removed and a fresh sheet to be placed thereon. 'llhe ordinary Gordon press is alsoprovided with a hand lever C by means of which the operator mayV alter the operative length of the connecting rod A2 and thus prevent the bed A3 from moving forward a suiiicient distance to make a printing impression, the press, however, being allowed to continue running.

The construction of feeder illustrated in the drawings consists of a feed box of such form that it may be attached to the rear of the frame of an ordinary press near the position usually occupied by the feed table, and a hood detachably connected to the feed box. Thishood carries a device for separating the sheets of paper one by one from the pile or stack carried by the feed box and pushing them forward to the feed grippers; which device will be termed the sheet separating mechanism throughout this v.specification. rllhe hoo also supports'a frame which is adapted to be' moved to and fro across the` platen during the period in which the latter is stationary and carries grippers which receive the sheets of paper from the sheet separating device and deposit them upon the platen. vThis frame and the parts related thereto will be hereinafter termed the feed mechanism. rllhe hood also carries a device for grasping the paper after a printing impression has been made thereon and the line 27-27 of Fig. 10;4

`ing bottom D?,

"aisance conveying it to the delivery box, which device will be hereinafter termed the delivery mechanism. rlFhe hood also carries a device by means of which the bed and platen of the presses are thrown out of operative relation when either more or less than one sheet is moved forward by the sheet separating mechanism, the device also operating to prevent the feed mechanism from seizing the sheets when morethan one is moved ,forward by the sheet separating mechanism. rfhis device will be hereinafter termed the throwing out mechanism.` lt may here be mentioned that the connection between the hood and the feed box is such that the former, together with the sheet separating mechanism, feed mechanism, delivery mechanism and throwing out mechanism carried thereby, may be readily removed in case of accident to any of these parts,` the press being may be fed thereto by hand from the feed box. Moreover, the method of attachment of the feed box to theframe of the press is such that the former may be readily removed if desired, leaving the press in its original position for feeding by hand.

then in such condition that the paper rllhese features render it possible to use the. A

feeder in connection with an already existing press, which is a great advantage, commerclally. l

The feed boah-The connection betweenA box D (Figs. 1-6) is provided with afloatupon which'a pile of stock is adapted to be supported. rfhe ioating bottom D2 is carried by a stem Ds slidably mounted in a guide D4 which extends downwardly from the base of thel feed box. A spring D5 is provided for retaining the oating bottom D2 in its uppermost position, this spring being connected with the floating bottom by means ofv a lever De, to which the upper end of the spring is attached and a link D?. The operative length of the lever D6 determines, of course, the upward pressure applied by the spring to the floating bottom, and, as` itis desirable that this upward pressure be regulated according to the weight of the particular size and kind of stock used, provision is made to vary the operative length of thisA lever in accordance with the particular variety of stock employed. To this end the pivot D8 (Figs. 2, ll: and 6) of the lever D6 is made movable in a slot D9 formed in the end thereof. The pivot Ds is carried by a block D1o slidahle in a guide D11 which is secured to the' feed box, and this block is hitched,by means of a rod D12 to a pivoted hand lever D13. In order that the relative positions of the lever D3 and the link D7 may be accurately defined a spacing link D11 is pivoted to the link D7 coaxially with the lever D6 and has its other end pivotally supported in a lug D15 secured to the guide D11. y

In order to adjust the floating bottom D2 for a particular variety of stock it is only necessary to release the stem D3, which, as will be described below, is normally locked against movement except at predetermined periods, when the hand lever D13 may be moved either to the left or to the right (Fig. 2) according as it is desired to shorten the 'operative length of the lever DG for light stock or length'en the operative length of the lever D6 for heavy stock. The nature of the spring D5 is such that its pressure will be gradually reduced, as the floating bottom rises, approximately in proportion to the reduction of weight of the stock owing to the removal of the paper sheet by sheet.

As was stated in the preceding paragraph, the floating bottom D2 is normally locked against upward movement by the action of the spring D3. This is effected by means of a clutch E (Figs. 4 and 5) which operates uponv the lower end of the stem D3. The clutch E consists of a block E1 slidably mounted in a hollow boss, situated at the lower end of the guide D2, and having a slot E2 therein through which the stem D3 passes. A coiled spring E3 abuts against the end of the block E1 and normally forces the end surface of the slot E2 into engagement with the stem D3 whereby the stem is held against movement. The clutch is intermittently released by means of a cam projection E4 which is secured to the driving shaft A1 of the press. revolution of the shaft A1 engages a roller E5 carried by the block E1 and thus forces the block inward against the action of the spring E3, whereby the steml D3 is released be moved downward to receive a new pile of.

and the floating bottom D2 allowed to be moved upward by the action of the spring D5. The cam projection E1 is placed in such position upon the shaft A1 that the clutch willbe released and the fioating bottom allowed to move upward shortlv after a sheet has been separated from the pile and removed to the platen by means of the sheet separating mechanism and feed mechanism to be hereinafter described.

In order that the floating bottom D2 may stock and in order to enable the operator to adjust the height of the floating bottom manually when desired. a clutch actuating lever E6 (Figs. 2 and 5) is pivoted to the cas` ing of the clutch E in such position as to4 engage,fby means of its bent over end E7, a shoulder EB formedfupon the clutch block The cam projection EA1 at each Y E1. By moving the clutch operating lever E6 to the left, its end E7 is forced against the Vshoulder E8 and the clutch block E1 is thereby forced inwardly against the action of the spring E3, the stem D3 being thus released.. lVhen the stem D3 has been released the floating bottom may be manually pressed the oating bottom is -securely retained inI the lowermost position. This is the condition of the parts shown in Fig. 2.

The floating bottom D2 is formed with transverse slots through which project side stops 4D16 (Figs. 2, 3 and 11) between which the pile of stock is placed upon the floating bottom. These stops are laterally adjustable for different widths vof paper and are similar toone another, so that a description of one of them will suffice.

verse guide bar D17 carried by the box D beneath the floating bottom, and is provided with a screw hole into which is threaded the end of a rod D13 which extends tothe rear of this feed box. The end of the rod D1S is arranged to bear against the guide bar D17 amd thus lock the stop D16 against movement. `However, when it is desired to'A adjust the stop, this may be done by turning the rod D18 so as to release its end from engagement with the guide D17 when the stop may be manually moved to the right or left by means of the rod D13.

The mechanism for raising the floating bottom D2 does'not, in itself. form part of'I the present invention, but is the subject-matter of my cfr-pending application Serial No. 790.524. filed September 18, 1913.

The hooi-The hoodV F (Figs. l, 2, 3, 7 and 8i is mounted upon the upper edges of the sides of the feed box D and is secured thereupon by means of removable pins F1. Then the pins F1 are removed. the hood. together with the devices which it carries (sheet separating mechanism, feed mechanism. delivering mechanism. .and throwing out mechanism)l can be bodilv removed from the. feed box. thus leaving the press in -condition for feeding b v hand.

Mounted in suitable bearings in the hood F is the counter shaft F2 which carries a number of cams and other devices for actuating the various parts of the feeder. The counter shaft F2 is driven, by means of toothed gearing F3, from the gear wheel A4 of the press, the arrangement of the gearing .F3 being such that the counter shaft F2 ro- Each of the stops D16 is slidably mounted upon a transl slopes forward downwardly and provides a table upon which the delivery boX M 'may be supported. j

The .sheet separating me@wmzsm..'ll`he construction of the -sheet separating mechanism is as follows; Slidably mounted in lugs G1 (Figs. 2,'3, 4 and 11) Vextending inwardly from thesides of the hood F are a pair of pins G2 which are carried by a presser bar G, 'compression springs G3 (Fig. 4).being inserted between the spresser bar and the lugs G1, which' springs tend to hold the presser bar in its lowermost position against stops formed by the upper edges of the side walls of the boX D. When the presser bar G is in its lowermost position anda pile of stock is in place upon the feed boX the presser bar G firmly presses down upon its stops and compresses the paper along the front edge thereof, the pile of stock being intermittently moved upward against the presser bar G by the action of the spring D3. Cams G4, mounted on the counter shaft F2 (Figs. 2, 4 and 11) are provided for intermittently raising the presser bar and allowing one of the sheets of paper upon the 4pile to be moved forward. These cams each have two projections G5 thereon which alternately engage the rollers of cam levers G3 which are pivoted to the hood, and the ends of which engage in notches in the pins G2. As the cam G1 revolves, therefore, the "lever Gr6 is operated to'raise the presser bar and allowthe paper to be moved beneath it, this raising operation occurring twice during each revolution of the counter shaft F2, once in order to enable the testing gage to operate, and a second time to enable the .sheet to be withdrawn by the feed grippers.

The sheet separating mechanism proper H (Figs. 10-15) is actuated by means of a bell crank H1 rockably supported in the hood F adjacent the center of the front end thereof. Movement is yimparted to the bell crank lever H1 by means of a cam Hv2 secured to the counter shaft F2. r1`he cam H2 is formed with a small starting hump H3 and the configuration of the remainderof the cam is spring H4. The slight preliminary movement caused by the hump H3 causes the sheet lifting shoe to operate.

1 Suitablysecured to the hood is a`horizontal rod H5 carrying on its outer end a aisance block H6 which carries the sheet lifting device. rllhe block H3 is adjustably mounted upon the rod H5 so as to provide'for the use of various sizes of sheets of paper and carries an end stop H1, which is shown as being formed of bent sheet metal. rlFhe block H3 is adjusted upon the rod H5 so that the end stop H7 presses lightly against the rear of the pile of paper. Pivot'ed to the upper part of the block H3 is a link Hg carrying at its outer end' the pneumatic lifting shoe H2. The link H8 is provided with a projection H1o arranged to be yengaged and moved by a block H11 secured to a movable `rod H12 which derives its movement from the bell crank lever H1l Rockably supported in the block H3 is a spindle H13 carrying at each end a lever to which is secured a paper separating dog H14. The spindle H13 is formed with a projection H15 thereon which engages in a recess H1G formed in the lower side of the block H11 so that the latter, in its forward and backward movements will intermittently rock the spindle H13 to raise and lower the dogs H14. rllhe lifting shoe'H9 is provided with a rear plate H17 the ends of which extend slightly downward (Fig. 15) and behind which the dogs H1'1 engage when they are raised. As theblock H11 is moved forward by reason of the bell crank lever H1 being moved by the hump H3` of the cam H2 and the rod H12 being consequently pulled forward, it engages the projection H1o and thus raises the lifting shoe H9 to lift a sheet of paper. oPractically. at the same time the rear face of the recess H13 engages against/ the projection H13 fcthe spindle H13 and effects a downward rocking movement thereof to lower' the dogs H14, the result being that these dogs slip downwardly and forwardly from the rear plate H17 and enter beneath the lifting shoe before .the sheet of paper lifted Vthereby has had time to fall. Fig. 13 shows the vposition of these parts just before the lifting shoe H3 rises. Fig. 12

illustrates the position of the dogs as they are being forced downwardl by the block H11, the dogs being shown as just entering beneath the shoe\H3 to catch a sheet of paper. such that a slight forward movement is im- 1n order that the shoe H3 may be enabled to perform the above described lifting operation' its lower face is formed with aplurality of concentric connected circular grooves H18 (Fig. 14) and with a central .hole H19 communicating by means of a hoseH2O with a pump H21 actuated by a cam 'on the counter shaft F2.` ust as the shoe H9 is being lift ed, the pump is actuated by its cam to create a suction in thehole H11 and concentric grooves H13, so that, as the shoe is raised, a sheet of paper will be pneumatically gripped thereby and raised with it. lfmmediately after the sheet has been raised the movement of the pump is reversed and consequently the sheet falls. Before, however, the sheet has had time to reach the pile again the dogs H14 have entered beneath the 5 lifting shoe and the sheet of paper consequently falls with its rear edge resting upon vthe points of these dogs whereby it is separated from the remainder of the pile. The dogs H14 press upon the pile of stock sufficiently hard to prevent the removal of any other sheets of paper when the separated sheet is withdrawn.

In. order to prevent the lifting footH9 from raising two sheets at once owing tothe paper being drawn into the concentric grooves H18 and thereby creating a suction upon the second sheet of paper in the pile, I form a slight depression H22 (Figs. 14 and l5) between the rear edge of the lifting shoe and the circular grooves H18. The effect of this is clearly shown o n Fig. 15. When the top sheet is sucked against the shoe it adapts itself to the configuration of the lower surface thereof ,and therefore 5 creates a small passage between itself and the next sheet, whereby air is admitted between the two sheets and the chance of more than one being raised by the lifting shoe is minimized.

All of the above described operations occur during the slight movement of the rod H12 due to the hump H3 eecting the pre- 1 liminary' movement of the bell crank lever H1.

While the above operations have been going on the Isheet pushing device has -begun its movement. The sheet pushing device is and in dotted lines in Fig. 10. The distance between the under face of the cross bar I1 and the top of the spacing pin I2 will always be the same, regardless of any buc- .kling of the paper, when thel parts are in position, this'being due to the provision of a pin I3 upon the lever I which slidably engages beneath th'e rod H12 when the lever I has been moved through part of its rearward movement. As soon as the pin I3 engages against the rod H12 the lever I ceases to move as a part of the bell crank lever H1 and begins to rock about its fric'- tional pivot. When a hump H3 begins to press upon the roller of the bell crank lever H1 the lever I is moved downward until its in a position. shown in full lines in Fig. 13'

end presses upon the top of the spacing pin I2 and remains in that position until the cam H2 begins to move the bell crank lever H1 again, when the cross bar I1 will slipof the spacing pin I2 and move downward to engage, by means of the friction disks, the top sheet of paper and move it forward into the position shown'in Fig. 10, it being remembered that before the cross bar I1 moves from above the spacing pin, the lifting shoe and dogs will have separated asheet in the manner described above. The spacing pin I2 exactly determines the time at which the friction disks will strike the paper and the distance forward through which it will be moved, 'regardless of any buckling of the paper which may occur.

Just before the above operations take place one of the pairs of cam projections Gr5 will have operated the cam lever Gr6 to raise the pin G2 and therefore the pressure bar G to enable the sheet to be pushed out in front. As'the cam projections Gr5 pass away from the rollers of the cam levers the presser bar is allowed to fall in order that the testing gage to be described below may perform its operation. The sheet is then ready to be seized by the grippers and transferred to'the platen of the press as soon as the grippers are operated and the presser bar G raised for the second time.

. The above described sheet-separatin mechanism does not, in itself, form part of the present invention but forms the subjectmatter of my co-pending application Serial Np. 527,004,fi1ed November 9, 1909. s

Th feed mecham'sm.-The feed mechanism is constituted as follows: Pivoted. to

the. hood are a pair of guidesJ (Figs. 11 and 23) in which the gripper frame is mounted. These guides are similar in form and a description of one of them, therefore, will be sutlicient. Each guide is provided with an upwardly extending arm J1 bearing a roller which runs upon the periphery of a cam J2 which is mounted on the counter shaft F2 and has a cam projection J 3 thereupon. The roller of the arm J1 is held in engagement with the cam J2 by means of a compression spring J1, the result being that, when the .projection J 3 strikes the roller of the arm J1,

the latter will be rocked about its pivot. Slidably mounted in the guide J1 is the longitudinal tooth racks K of the gripper frame (Figs. 3, 16-21 and 23). These racks are connected at their front end by the gripper supporting cross bar K1. grippers K2 are mounted upon the cross bar K1 in such manner as to be capable of lateral adjustment thereupon. The grippers K2 are of similar construction, each being provided with a central bore in which the gripper members K4 and K5 and the spring K11 are contained. The gripper members Kl1 and K5 are formed with Vinterengaging hooks K2 A pair of` that a lost lmotion effect may be obtained.

and K3 (Figs.

ance being leftbetween the hooks in order The lspring K6 normally presse/s the gripper member K5, and therefore the member K4,

downwardly against a jaw K7 with which the gripper is provided. The gripper member K may, however, be lifted a sufficient distance to raise the member K4 away from in orderto permit the insertion the jaw K7 while it also may be gage the jaw K" by means of its weight alone. This entire and partial raising of vthe gripper member K5 is eected by means of a flat bar K2 which extends through both grippers and intoa recess K9 of each of the gripper members K5. The bar has a seat in each of the grippers, and it willl be readily understood that when it is rocked about its seat the gripper members K5 will be raised,l a slight rocking movement of the bar effecting a partial raising of the members K5, whereby the gripper members K4 engage the jaws K7 by gravity, and a greater rocking movement of the bar effecting the entire lifting of the grippermembers K5 whereby the members K4 are also raised and the grippers placed into condition for receiving a sheet of paper.

The bar K8 is pivoted at its ends in ears which extend upwardly from the racks ,K of

the gripper frame near the end of the cross 4 gagement with the ear K1".

bar K1, and is provided with .an upwardly. extending ear K10 which eects the complete tilting movementof the bar K8. The upper end ofthe ear K10 engages, when the gripper frame approaches the position in which a sheet of paper is 'to be taken, a trip lever K11, whereby it is moved backward and the bar K8 is tilted to completely openjthe grippers, to receive the sheet of paper.

The closing of the grippers upon the sheet of paper is eected by means of a lever K12 (Fig. 23)'. This lever is pivoted at K12 and has at its ends a cam roller which engages a cam K14 whereby the shoulder K15 of the 'lever is moved forward to engage the end of the trip lever K11 and move it outof en- When the trip lever K11` has thus been moved: awaiy from the ear K10 the springs K5 of the lgrippers force the vbar K2 downward and the gripper members K4 against `the jaws K1, whereby 'ai sheet of paper/is seized. The platen B has now returned vfrom the previous printing operation and has reached i the position shown i1:A Fig. 1 and the gripper frame is now moved forward to deposit the sheet of paper thereupon. This is eected by bring-` 05 Y, ing the front edge ofthe paper into engagement with stops Z which are provided upon 18, 19 and 20) a slight cleari fore,

from the grippers vrotating movement K25 by means of a pivoted toothsegment disk AK2" is -mounted upon t such 4position2that theportion K25 w1ll come v K11: The -trip lever 'K11 ameno@ the platenfor that purpose. Tn order, therethat, when the edge of the sheet may be withdrawn without any injury being done to the paper, it is desirable to provide means whereby the grasp of grippers 1s lightened before the sheet is removed.

j The lightening of the grippers is effected by slightly tilting the bar K8 whereby the paper is left held in the grippers by reason of the weight of the gripper members K4 alone. This slight tilting of the bar K8 is efected by means of a link K16 (Figs. 17, 21'and 23) attached at one endtoa projection K17 which extends downwardly from the bar K5, and at the other end`to a trip lever K1 which is pivoted at K20 to one of the racks gages the stops,

'K. The trip lever K19 is normally held forward by the action of the springs KG of the grippers, but is-arranged to be moved rearwardly by engagement with a backwardly extending strip K21 which is formed upon one of the guides J. The length of this strip is such that the trip lever K19 is operated some time before the grippers have completed their travel over the surface of the platen. This provides for the proper operation ofthe grippers regardless of the size of the paper used An adjustable sheet register is provided upon the platen for automatically moving the 'sheet fed into the proper printing position if the sheet was not fed to the correct position in the first case. This automatic register forms the subject matter of my Letters PatentNo. 964,7 56, issued July 19, 1910, and will not therefore be specifically described here.

The forward and backward movement of the gripper frame is effected by means of toothed wheels K22 (Figs. 1, 2, 3, 7 8 and 9) mounted upon a spindle K23 extending transversely of the hood F. A to and fro is imparted to the shaft K24 engaging a pinion uponthe shaft K25. The segment K24 is provided with a cam roller K25 which enters a cam groove K25 1n ,a disk K27 carried by the counter shaft F2.

The cam groove K26 has an inwardly and outwardly extending portion K2B which effects the required upward and downward movement ,of the segment K24. The cam the shaft K2 in into'vv operation during the ltime that the platen is v order -that the operation of the grippers maybe carried on during the time thatthe platen isk in its stationary position, that is, in the position shown in Fig. 1. n

Briefly stated, the'operation of the feed mechanismis as followszStarting fromvthe actuation, by'the lever K12, of the trip lever having been moved held in its stationary position in the paper en- Sii the sheet of paper which has been fed forward by the separating mechanism. Just at that moment the portion K28 of the cam groove K2G begins to operate upon the roller K25 of the segment K21 whereby the segment is moved downwardly and the gripper frame is consequently moved forward over the platen, the presser bar G having been raised previously by the second pair of cam projections G5 to enable the sheet of paper to be removed. Somewhat after the grippers lever K1f1strikes the end of the strip K21 and is thereby moved rearwardly thus pulling upon the link K1G and effecting a slight tilting movement of the bar K2. The slight tilting movement of the bar K2 lifts the gripper members K5 a little but not enough to cause them to raise the membersK the results being that the paper is held by the grippers solely by reason of the weight of the members K2, so that when the paper strikes the stops on the platen it can easily slide out of the grippers without chance outermost position. Just as it reaches this position the projection J3 of the cams J2 strike the rollers on the arms J1 of the guides J and slightly tilt these arms downward with the effect that the end of the gripper frame is moved upward so that during the return movement thereof the grippers will not strike and derange the paper. Just about this time the cam roller J 25 has passed the center of the actuating portion K28 of the cam portion K25, the parts then being in the position shown in Fig. 27. The segment K24 then begins to move upward and the gripper frame therefore to be moved inward until the ear K1o strikes the trip lever K11 and effects the opening of the grippers. The grippers then remain open until thepaper has been pushed out between them and they are again closed by the action of the lever I 12.

The {Zelz'ocm/ mechamlsmr-The delivery mechanism effects theremoval of the sheet of paper after printing and the placing of it into the delivery boX; it -is constituted as follows: Rockably mounted upon the hood F is segmental arml L (Figs. l, 2 and 22) having an arc-shaped slot L1 therein.

axially mounted with .the segmental arm L is the delivery arm L2, the arm, L2 being radially movable relative to the segmental arm L and being connected thereto by means of a bolt L3 passing through the slot L1 so that the position of the delivery arm may be adjusted for various sizes of paper.

The .outer end of the arm L2 is bent over at right angles to form a horizontal support member L1v (Fig. 2) .in which is rockably supported a rod L5 upon which the delivery grippers L are mounted in such manner as to be capable of lateral adjustment for various widths of paper. A spring LT is wound about the rod L5 and tends to hold the delivery grippers LG against the front edge of the horizontal member L1.

The delivery grippers each consist of an upper spring finger LS having a lip formed at its end and a lower spring finger Ln having a knife edge at its end so that as the platen moves relatively to the grippers the finger L will slide over the surface of the y platen and beneath. the sheet of paper carried thereby. For opening the delivery grippers a fiat bar L10 is provided, the tilting of which effects the opening of the grippers. The bar L1U is rockably mounted at its end in a crank L11 extending forwardly froln the end of the rod L5 and is provided with a lever L12, to the end of which is connected a link L13, the opposite sideof the link being pivoted to a trigger L14 having an actuating projection L15 and a second, rearwardly extending, actuating projection L1G (Fig. 22). The delivery arm rocks from a position shown in full lines in Fig. 22, in which the delivery grippers are in contact with the platen, to the position sho-wn in dotted line in the saine figure, in which the delivery grippers 'are above the delivery box and have dropped the printed sheet therein;

In order that the most efficient results may be obtained I have foundv it desirable to arrange the delivery arm and grippers so that the grippers will be moved in contact with the tympan upon the platen just about the time when the printing operation is taking place, the points ofthe delivery gripper Ls striking the tympan first and forcing the rod L5 to rotate against the action of the spring L7, while the delivery arm concludes its forward movement, the result being that the delivery grippers are held firmly against the sheet which has been fed to the platen and forced to slide closely against the sur face thereof. During the latter part of this movement the-grippers are opened; The arm is then allowed to remain stationary until the platen begins to move backward after the printing opera-tion, in doing which it brings the sheet just printed between,the fingers L8 and L9 of the delivery grippers (Fig. 22). L2 begins to movev again, the grippers closing at the same time upon the sheet. The arm L2 then rocks back into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 22 when the lingers are opened again to allow the sheet carried thereby to fall into the delivery boX M. ,V l

In order that the above results may be obtained the counter shaft F2 is provided with a crank arm L17 to the end of which is pivote'd a connecting rod L1S having a slide- 'L19 is mounted a slide block L2o (Fig. 22)

vupon the upward moveme vJust as the delivery and a powerful spring L21 slidably whichv tends to L2Iagainst the upper force the vslide block A lug L22 which is `end ofthe slideway L12.

l,formed upon the segmental arm L is connected to the slide block L2. The eHect of this would ordinarily be, of course, that the rotation of the crank L17 would e'ect acontinuous reciprocating movement of the lug L22 and therefore of the delivery. arm L2. In vorder to eect the labove described dwell of the delivery arm just before the paper is seized, however, a suitable r'stop L23 is provided upon the hood F (Figs. 3 and The segmental arm L strikes the stop L22 just as the delivery grippers reach the required position between the platen and the bed, (see full lines Fig. 22)- and is thereby prevented from further downward moyement. As the-crank L17 continues to rotate the slide block L20 is forcibly pushed downward against the action of the spring L21 until the crank passes its dead center, when the block returns to its original position against the end of the slideway L12, wheret of the delivery arm starts. i f

' Just before the delivery arm L2 strikes the stop L22 the projection L15 of the trigger L11 strikes the samestop and causes the trigger L12 to rock about its pivot and e'ect link L13 whereby the bar`L1. is rocked and the delivery grippers opened. As the arm L2 leaves the stop L23 at the. beginning of its upward movement after the sheet has been pushed by the platen between the fingers L8 and L", the projection L15 leavesthe stop L22, whereupon the resiliency of the fingers Ls and L2 forces the bar L10 back into its Hat position and the delivery' grippers thus close upon the paper.

arm L2 reaches the poa pull upon allowed-to fall into the delivery box M.

The thro/wing out waecham'sm/ -The throwing rout mechanism is actuated by means of a testing gage N (Figs. 27, 28, 29

. and 30)mounteduponthefront yof the presser bar Gr near the center thereof. rlhe gage is formed with a vertical slot yN1 in which is mounted a block N2 which has threaded therein a gage pin N3 having at its lower end a foot N1 arranged to engage an anvil N5 carried by the front of the feed box and having. at its upper end a thumb nut N6, being inserted between the body ofthe gage and the foot N2 tending to hold the foot in its downward position. 'llhe block N2 is extendedrearwardly to form a imi-fe edge N8 which projects upward into a4 N2 causes thestop lever I0f the sheet separating sition shown 1n dotted lines 1n Flg. 22, the

'lower end of the slot '\then, when one sheet is fed forward by the f sheet separating mechanism the end of the naissant horizontal chamber N2 with which the-gage is provided. Fulcrumed. on the knife edge N8 and extending into the 'chamber N9 is the end N111 of the stop lever N11 whichextends along the frontof the presser bar Gr through an elongated slot N12 formed on-the side of hood (Figs-23 and 26). The gage is provided with a downwardly extending projection N13 situated above and slightly to the rear of the knife edge N2, against which projectionthe rear part of the end N1o `of the stop lever abuts. By this arrangement a very slight movement of the block N2 will, by the upward and downward shiftingof the knife edge N8, create a considerable movement of the outer end of the's/top lever N11, this being due to the great dierence in length of the arms of the lever.

rlhe operation of the testing gage is as follows: By manually moving he thumb nut N6 of thethreaded gage pin N2, the height of the block N2 in the slot N1 is adjusted so that, when, after they downward movement of the presser bar subsequent to the moving forward of the sheet of paper by, the sheet separating mechanism, presses the'sheet between itself and the anvil N5, the knife edge N2 of the block N2 will be in such a position that the outer end of thestop lever N11 will be located in the center of the slot N12 (Fig. 23). Withsuch an adjustment it will be evident that, should, for any reason, two sheets of paper be pushed by the sheet separating mechanism forward over the anvil N5, the block N2 will 'be moved upward a greater distance than ordinarily owing to the extra thickness be` tween Vthe foot NL2 and the anvil N5, the re sult being that the lmife edge N8 of the block N11 to be moved upward so that its outer end becomes located in the top part of the slot N12. The failure mechanism to push a sheet forward has the eect that, owing to the absence of the paper between thefoot N4 and the anvil N5, the block N2 will not be moved upward sufficiently for its knife edge N8 to cause the o Ater end of the stop lever N11 to assume its normal position inthe center of the slot N12, the result being that the end of the stop lever N11 remains in the N12. Briefly stated,

stop lever N11 is'l'ocated -at the center of the slot N12, when two or more sheets are fed forward the end of the stop lever N11 is located at the top of the slot N12, and when no sheet is fed forward'the end of the -stop leveris located at the bottom of the slot N12. The presence of the slot lever N11 in the lower end of the slot N12 throws the bed and platen out of operative relation, the presence of the stop lever N11 the upper en slot N12 has a similar e ect and prevents the d of the ine' 

